A Caldecott Winner in 1984, it was an instant classic thanks to it’s portrayal of courage, is truly marvelous, and really appropriate for boys and girls of all ages. It shows valour, courage, charity, courtly love, faith, and prudence. It is one of the most poetic picture books out there. It isn’t , strictly speaking, the story of the actual Saint George, but rather a retelling of the legend as told in Sir Edmund Spenser’sThe Fairy Queen. The Red Cross Knight slays a dragon that has been terrorizing the countryside, and restore peace, and wins the hand of the fair maid Una, princess of the land (of course!). The illustrations are worth the price of admission alone, but the story is equally beautifully told and, well, basically: the book is perfect. If you don’t own it, you ought to.